Asia still attractive for private equity investors

(ChannelNewsAsia) SINGAPORE: Asia still remains an attractive destination for private equity investors.  This, despite some major Asian economies showing signs of a slowdown.

Experts said this is due to their confidence in the growth of Asia’s consumer sector.  Persistent eurozone woes and the slowing US economy continue to cast uncertainty over Asia’s economies. The Asian Development Bank has now cut its growth forecast for Asia to 6.6 per cent for 2012 from 6.9 per cent. ===> Continue Reading at ChannelNewsAsia

Dumb Money: Hedge Funds Can’t Even Beat Bond Funds, “Macro risk hasn’t been this high since the Asian crisis.”

(CNBC) They are supposed to be the smart money—the best of the best—yet they can’t even beat a basic Treasury bond fund.

Hedge funds as a group are badly underperforming this year, which could lead to a series of redemptions, closings and rethinking of the lofty fee structures the managers of these alternative vehicles enjoy.

The Bank of America Merrill Lynch global diversified hedge fund composite index returned just 1.3 percent in the first half of 2012, well below the S&P 500’s 8.3 percent gain.

Asia hedge funds hire international banking talent

July 3 (Bloomberg) — Everbright Capital Management Ltd., backed by the state-controlled China Everbright Ltd., will start hedge funds this week as Chinese firms lure managers from international banks.

The first two funds will be initially run by investment teams led by Ali Ahmed, former global head of equity trading at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, and Adam Weinrich, previously a managing director at New York-based hedge fund Jana Partners LLC, said John Shen, Everbright Capital’s Hong Kong-based chief investment officer.

SOURCE:

• SFGate.com

Global regulation drives fund managers to strengthen operational controls and improve corporate governance

By James Williams – A recent industry survey that ranked Asian prime brokerages based on hedge fund AUM was both predictable and unexpected. Predictable in the sense that Goldman Sachs remains the leading broker in Asia. Unexpected in the sense that Morgan Stanley, ranked Number 2 in the survey, was only some USD420million ahead of Credit Suisse (with approximately USD19.2billion in AUM), with Deutsche Bank and UBS each gaining 10 per cent market share.

Since 2008, Goldmans and Morgan Stanley have seen their market share in the region halved as European players and the likes of Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citi have moved aggressively to win clients. The ‘duopoly’ has become a stable of six or seven quality primes all battling for market share, illustrating that Hong Kong’s prime brokerage industry has become more competitive than ever.

World Islamic Banking Conference December 9-11 in Bahrain

For close on 2 decades the World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) has been at the forefront of the global Islamic finance industry, establishing its reputation as the world’s largest and most influential gathering of Islamic finance industry leaders. From a mere 120 pioneering delegates at its launch way back in 1994, the 18th Annual WIBC is set to continue this tradition of supporting growth, excellence and innovation in the industry – and is poised break new records in 2011 with more than 1,200 attendees from 50+ countries set to join over 60 market-leading partners and sponsors.

Hedge Fund veteran resigns as co-head of China ECM at Deutsche Bank

Will Li is leaving Deutsche Bank after two years to return to the fund management industry, sources say. Separately, the bank has let go of two bankers in its corporate finance division as part of a headcount reduction.

(Finance Asia) Will Li, co-head of China equity capital markets (ECM) at Deutsche Bank, has resigned after almost two years with the bank. According to sources, Li plans to return to the buy-side.

Li started work in the investment banking industry in Hong Kong in 2000 and has held a variety of roles at different banks, but with a key focus on China. He is no stranger to fund management, however. Before he joined Deutsche in July 2010, Li ran his own macro hedge fund, Ocean Capital China Macro, which he started in 2009 and ran for about one-and-a-half years. The fund was awarded as the best macro hedge fund in 2010 by our sister magazine, AsianInvestor.

Asia bankers reject counter-cyclical capital buffer as effective tool for supervision

The negative impact of the counter-cyclical capital buffer on high-growth countries has reinforced the feeling that the Basel III Accord is biased towards the North American and European banking systems at the expense of Asia

(Risk.net) The principle behind Basel III’s counter-cyclical capital buffer (CCB) is simple: credit grew at too rapid a pace in the run-up to the financial crisis, so the Basel rules include a provision requiring banks to put in an additional capital buffer in economic boom times. Based on factors such as the credit-to-GDP ratio the CCB is intended to give regulators a weapon against pro-cyclicality and a defence against system-wide shocks.

AmInvestment Bank launches new fund in Malaysia

(The Sun Daily) KUALA LUMPUR (June 7, 2012): AmInvestment Bank’s Funds Management Division (FMD) said its new AmConsumer Select-Capital Protected Fund, aims to provide regular income with an investment horizon of 30 months while providing capital protection on maturity.

Its director of retail funds, Ng Chze How, said the product, which aimed to capitalise on the potentials of consumer-related stocks, is on sale for 45 days from June 5 at RM1 per unit.

RBC Global Asset Management Inc. announces May sales results for RBC Funds and PH&N Funds

TORONTO, June 5, 2012 /CNW/ – RBC Global Asset Management Inc. today announced May net sales of $436 million. Long-term funds had net sales of $565 million and money market funds had net redemptions of $129 million. Assets under management decreased by 1.8 per cent.

“With steady flows across our diverse line-up of funds, we continued to capture a significant portion of industry long-term mutual fund net sales during the month of May,” said Doug Coulter, president of RBC Global Asset Management Inc. “Our new suite of RBC Corporate Class Funds has nearly reached the half a billion dollar milestone, with more than $495 million in assets since its launch on January 16, 2012.”

Asia hedge fund start-up Expedition hires ex-Sparx Bahra

May 29 (Reuters) – Hong Kong-based hedge fund startup Expedition Advisors has hired Kam Bahra, former chief executive of Sparx Asia Investment Advisors, as chief operating officer, a top executive at the firm said on Tuesday.

Craig James, Expedition’s founder and former head of Asian trading at New York-based hedge fund AM Investment Partners, confirmed the hire to Reuters.

Bahra, a former Deutsche Bank executive with more than two decades of experience in the financial sector and a well known figure in the Asian hedge fund industry, left the Hong Kong unit of Japanese money manager Sparx Group at the end of last year.

Meanwhile, Sparx Sparx Group Co. (8739), Asia’s second- largest hedge fund, widened its full-year loss as performance and asset management fees dropped amid market declines on global economic concerns, according to Bloomberg.

The asset manager reported a net loss of 4.54 billion yen ($57 million) in the 12 months ended March 31, compared with 3.7 billion yen a year earlier, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement through a stock exchange. Revenue fell 37 percent to 4.49 billion yen.

Sparx posted its second straight annual loss even after cutting employee compensation and relocating to less expensive offices in Tokyo. Assets under management dropped 20 percent to 535.4 billion yen during the year, the company said.

SOURCES:

Business Insider

Bloomberg

Reuters